Government

Captain Mike Miller of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office wants to see the strides made under the two sheriffs he has served under move forward and he wants to build even stronger ties with the community in the days ahead.

Sheriff Mike Brown is 76, but age is not why he’s retiring. Brown said his health is good. He also said the department is strong.

“The department is on a high level,” he said. He said the vice unit — which has a focus on drugs and gangs — is one of the best in the state. The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force has 21 officers looking for sexual predators and the unit has a 100 percent conviction rate for people it has arrested. It’s all paid for with money from federal grants.

The Bedford County Board of Supervisors held its organizational meeting Monday night. The supervisors chose District 5 Supervisor Tommy Scott as chairman and District 6 Supervisor Andy Dooley as vice chairman.
During the meeting, the supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the town’s application for a grant to design and build an Amtrak passenger station in Bedford. The resolution does not obligate the county to spend any money.

RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam introduced two legislative proposals at a press conference Monday aimed at improving voting access and transparency in the campaign finance system.
One proposal would allow Virginians to vote absentee without having to provide an excuse — legislation the governor said would reduce crowds at the polls on Election Day. The current law, which Northam called “arbitrary,” requires citizens to give one of 20 reasons to vote absentee.

When Bedford was a city, it had its own building official. Once it reverted to town status six years ago, it ceded that enforcement of the state portions of the building code to the county.

The town retained enforcement of the maintenance code because it varies from locality to locality. Now the town is taking back the responsibility for enforcing the entire code and hired its own building official. The new building official started the day after New Year’s Day.

All of Bedford County’s libraries, except for the Big Island Library, have a parking space reserved for combat wounded. That’s because that library is a shared facility with Big Island Elementary School and has limited parking.

During the shutdown of the federal government due to the lapse of appropriations, national parks will remain as accessible as possible while still following all applicable laws and procedures. Park roads, overlooks, and trails on the Blue Ridge Parkway will remain accessible to visitors weather permitting. Emergency and rescue services will be limited.